New Years
by emletish
Summary: One cold, dark new years, Lu Ten makes the aquaintance of a struggling young Earthkingdom orphan named Jet. Lu Ten feels compelled to help the boy. Perhaps because he reminds him so much of his young cousin, but also because Lu Ten is starting to feel guilty for all the suffering caused by the war. The war is not at all what he thought it would be like. Fits with stalking universe
1. New Years Eve

-0-

New Year's Eve.

-0-

Jet, aged ten, was alone and trapped and helpless. And he was really fucking pissed off about this turn of events. He's been caught by those firemonsters when he and Smellerbee and Longshot had been pinching their supplies. The winter was bitter and they had run out of everything. A twig snapped under Smellerbee's foot and Jet had told them to run for it. He'd caused a distraction to give Smellerbee and Longshot time to get away. He thought it would be easy to hoist himself up to the branch and make his own get away through the trees. But one of the fire monsters had clobbered him over the head with something and he'd woken up here. He was in a small cell. It was a tiny hopeless little jail cell that Jet hated. His head was pounding. He was colder than he had ever felt in his life.

He thought his situation couldn't get any worse. But then the firemonsters came back.

-o-

It was New Years, and Lu Ten was here on the fringes of Gaipan, not in Ba Sing Se with his dear and beloved father. They were going to celebrate the turning of the year together, like they always did. Lu Ten felt a jolt of homesickness for that jovial, kind face. Lu Ten knew that his father would be able to say something to make him feel better. His father could make sense of the world for him again.

But Father had wanted Lu Ten to discover the world for himself and develop his own philosophy. Father had thought that Lu Ten commanding a small squadron from the coast to Ba Sing Se would be a good experience for him. Lu Ten had found so many things along the way that he couldn't just leave, and there were appointments and delays and cock-ups to deal with every single day. They had been delayed in Gaipan region because Lu Ten saw so much that he couldn't let slide.

Atrocities that made him wonder how anyone could do something like that to another person.

Atrocities that made him think disloyal thoughts about his homeland.

Atrocities that made him question what the point to this war even was.

Around a month ago Lu Ten and his troops had come across the charred remains of a village. It was a sad and tragic little place. Lu Ten couldn't forget what they found there – he had tried. The image of those bodies had never really gone away. Lu Ten has just gotten better at not seeing it. They were huddled and piled in the burnt out husk of what was once a barn. The metal padlock, warped and rusted though it was, told the dark truth. These people had been locked in and left to burn. It was sickening

Lu Ten had gone into the woods and promptly lost the entire content of his stomach. It was the first time he'd ever seen a dead body, aside from his mother's at her funeral. And Lu Ten had been so young then and she'd been sick for so long. This sort of death, these pointless, violent village deaths haunted his dreams.

Lu Ten launched an investigation into finding out what happened. The woods were famous for bandits. Bandits were famous for being ruthless. Lu Ten had thought it would all be so easy. He thought the enemy would always be on the other side of the line. But then he and his men had come to the Rough Rhinos camp. They were having a short rest and would stay over the new years holiday. The Rough Rhinos liked to brag. Lu Ten had found out the truth can be so much worse than what you ever expected.

The Rough Rhinos felt no shame over what the had done. They freely admitted that they had travelled through the village and they had wanted to have some fun. _Fun._ They had locked a whole village of innocent people into a barn and set it alight _for sport. _The thought revolted Lu Ten. It made him want to kick Colonel Mongke in the teeth, every day for the rest of his life.

Lu Ten had hiked back to the previous watch-tower, just to send a messenger Hawk to his father. He was only a Captain and Colonel Mongke out-ranked him. It wasn't Lu Ten's place to deliver disciplinary action. But he felt like some disciplinary action had to happen if there was to be any justice at all in the world. For now, Lu Ten would go back to the camp and return to his tent and not speak to any of them. He didn't have the will or the energy to even pretend to be polite to the Rough Rhinos right now.

Lu Ten was done for the day. He was _done. _He was tired in his body. Tired in his head. And so so tired in his heart. He felt like the war had aged him way beyond his eighteen years. Lu Ten felt centuries old. He felt like he was too young for this war. He wasn't ready for it. Wasn't prepared for what it would actually be like. But then again everyone was too young for this war. That was the one constant. _Everyone died much too young in war. _

But Lu Ten's day was not over yet. When he walked back into the encampment, he heard the distinctive sound of drunken jeers and laughter. But this didn't sound like like the regular new year's revelry. There was a darker, more dangerous edge to the laughter.

It sounded like lynch mob laughter.

Lu Ten heard a young boy's anguished shout.

A child's cry of pain and bewilderment.

Fucking hell!

Lu Ten ran towards the sound.

-o-

The fire monsters were bored. They always did the worst shit when the got bored. Maybe someone should teach them all how to play hoop-a-scoot. Make things much more pleasant for everyone really. It was some sort of holiday for the fire monsters and they were drunk and bored and that was a bad combination for Jet.

Jet very quickly became their source of entertainment. As soon as someone they called Captain No-fun left, they had come for him. They had crowded around his cell, just to terrify Jet. They had pinched and poked and prodded him with their weapons and laughter mightily at all the curses Jet swore at them. They had jeered at him about all the terrible things they were going to do to him. _For fun. _

Jet had swore at them all and lashed out, but he felt so trapped and confined and terrified. The stone walls of the cell and the leering faces of the men had become his whole world and he could see no escape.

One of them got the keys from somewhere and Jet was dragged out by his hair, kicking and screaming and fighting all the way. The firemonsters stood in a big circle around him. Jet looked around the circle and saw a firemonster her recognised. The one from the village. The one who did the terrible thing to his father. Bind rage filled Jet. He launched himself at the firemonster and clawed and scratched and fought bitterly. The firemonster held him off easy. Jet's rage-filled struggles seemed to amuse the rest of them.

They were just playing with him at the moment. Soon it would get bad. But if this was going to be it, then Jet was going to go down fighting. He could try take this firemonster with him. He wasn't going to give the firemonsters the satisfaction of seeing that he was scared.

The big firemonster from the village suddenly flung him off with surprising violence. Jet landed hard. The big firemonster approached him. A flaming fist held aloft. Jet felt frozen in horror. The fist came towards him. Jet raised his arms to protect himself.

The pain seared across his forearms. It blazed into his flesh and his memory.

What a terrible thing it is to be burned.

Jet did not want to die this way.

Jet did not want to die at all, come to think of it.

Who would take care of Smellerbee and Longshot then?

At least they had gotten far away.

They would be back at the hideout, snuggling to keep warm by now.

Jet thought of them safe and snuggling. They'd survive.

They weren't here. They wouldn't have to see this.

Jet was exhausted. He'd been fighting for so long. The big firemonster struck again (with his foot not his fist – he was still playing). It was a resounding blow to the side of his head. Jet's vision swam. Jet closed his eyes and braced himself for a blow that never came. Right at that moment, a loud, furious voice yelled "STOP THIS AT ONCE".

-o-

While Lu Ten had been gone, fucking Colonel Mongke and his men had found some poor Earth Kingdom brat from somewhere. It was a boy with messy hair, bare feet and clothes far too thin to keep out the winter chill. Probably an orphan. There were so many of them in this region.

The boy looked like Zuko's age.

He couldn't possibly be older than tenish.

But he seemed tiny in comparison to the large circle of men that surrounded him. He was sprawled on the ground in front of Colonel Mongke. It looked to Lu Ten like the Colonel was going to strike the child.

A dark anger filled Lu Ten. He would not sit idly by while a child was hurt. That wasn't who Lu Ten was. Rank be damned, Lu Ten was going to stop this madness.

He shouted at the top of his lungs and barrelled through the circle of men. They all gasped at his sudden arrival – they had clearly expected him to be gone for a lot longer. Colonel Mongke shot him a disgruntled look at the intrusion. He knew the Rough Rhinos called him Captain no-fun. Here Lu Ten was again – to spoil the fun.

He went over to the boy who looked at him with wild and angry and very surprised eyes. The boy wasn't critically injured – so at least that was a small blessing. Lu Ten positioned himself between the boy and colonel Mongke and demanded an explanation.

A very bitter scene ensued. Colonel Mongke reminded Lu Ten to remember his place. He may be the Colonel's social superior in a Caldera ballroom, but on the field of battle, the Colonel out ranked him. Lu Ten, who was beyond angry and beyond caring about rank, pointed out that this was not the battle field. This was four grown men against a small, unarmed and underfed boy. What a fearsome enemy indeed. Lu Ten told them all that they should be fucking ashamed of themselves.

He felt am odd pang for swearing in front of the boy. Ursa had always been on at him not to swear in front of Zuko and Azula. _You've got to set a good example for them Lu Ten, They both look up to you so much. _He'd never be able to face either of his young cousins again, if he knowingly let a child be tormented in this way. What kind of example did that set?

Colonel Mongke wasn't having it. He didn't feel that he had to suffer lip from Lu Ten. He challenged Lu Ten to an Agni Kai. But he was drunk as a skunk. Instead of acquiescing to a formal duel – Lu Ten used his superior skills and agility. He launched himself at Colonel Mongke. A short series of kicks and punches and flips later- Colonel Mongke was well and truly beaten. Lu Ten had gotten a little too** into** the fight. At one point he head flipped Colonel Mongke over his shoulder, just to see the look on the mother-fucker's face. But he landed near the boy, who scrambled backwards quickly, in surprise and fright.

The Colonel was panting and on his knees in front of Lu Ten. Lu Ten fought the urge to kick him in the face. He wasn't this sort of person. The sort of person who would kick someone when they were down. Enough. Enough now. Lu Ten made his point. Lu Ten was freaking the kind out.

Lu Ten jumped on the Colonel and held him down in a restraining hold, with his knee pressing onto the Colonel's spleen instead. Enough to hurt, but not enough to do permanent damage. Lu Ten told the Colonel that he forgot himself. Lu Ten was his superior in every way except age.

Lu Ten told the Colonel and all the gathered men that they were fucking disgraces to the firenation. They had brought dishonour on themselves tonight. He scolded them furiously, until most of them were looking shamefaced. Lu Ten then ordered all the men to return to their tents and sleep it off. They slumped off in dribs and drabs. Lu Ten let the Colonel up and pointing towards the tents. Colonel Mongke shot his a look of loathing and left.

Then Lu Ten was standing alone in the yard with the boy. The boy was still sprawled on the ground. His lip was bloody and he had the start of a black eye forming. He gazed up a Lu Ten, his face filled with fright and fury.

" Have no fear of me. You're safe now boy." Lu Ten said in what was an attempt at a reassuring manner. He took a step towards the Kid – but the Kid immediately flinched away. It tugged at something deep inside Lu Ten, to see a child react to him with such fear.

Understandable fear. In his uniform and helmet – Lu Ten probably looked no different from the soldiers who had done this to the Kid.

Lu Ten took his helmet off and crouched down on to the kid's level. He could see burns blossoming over the kids arms. They were still fresh. He'd have to get some salve on that quickly. The boy scooted back further from Lu Ten. "It's okay - I'm not going to hurt you." Lu Ten assured the Kid. The Kid did not look reassured.

In fact, the Kid fainted dead away.

-o-

Jet didn't know what to make of the new firemonster. The one who had charged in from somewhere and stopped the other men. He reckoned this new firemonster was the most dangerous of all the firemonsters. He was the firemonster that all the other monsters were scared of...that had to mean he was really bad.

But yet, the new firemonster had stuck up for Jet and put himself between him and the big firemonster and protected him. Thanks to the New Firemonster, Jet had now learned that the big firemonster was called Colonel Mongke. New spat the Colonel's name like it was an insult, several times. Jet logged that information, that name, away in his mind. It would come in handy, knowing the big firemonster's name, in the future. New then swore and called the Colonel a few names. Then New shot Jet the oddest look. It looked almost apologetic and it was friggin weird.

The Colonel then challenged New. This was a massive mistake. New was totally Badass! New kicked the shit out of the Colonel – Jet felt a morbid satisfaction watching it . The New one made it look fucking easy. It was like swatting a fly. Even though New was half the Colonel's size – he made short work of him. It was brilliant and it was scary.

Even though he was a firemonster, Jet couldn't help but think that there was something inherently graceful in New's movements. Jet wanted to learn to fight like that, with fliud movements and such confidence.

New flicked the Colonel over his shoulder and he landed with a heavy thud right next to Jet. This surprised the shit out of Jet. Jet wouldn't say he was scared, but he did make a wee noise and scramble back from the shock of the sudden thud. He looked up and caught New's eyes. The friggin weird look from earlier, the almost apologetic one, passed over New's face.

The Colonel was on the ground in front of New. For an odd second, Jet wondered if New was going to kick him in the face. Jet could tell New wanted too. How bad could this get? Did firenation people kick each other in the face all the time? It wouldn't surprise Jet if they did.

New didn't kick the Colonel in the face. Instead he jumped on him and smushed his face into the ground and put his knee into his back. He then shouted some more stuff – but Jet couldn't quite hear it. He was feeling dizzy and the world was blurring. His ears felt like the were filled with water or some other gunk that make everything sound foggy. Then the firemonsters started walking away from the circle. New let the Colonel up and he left too.

It was just Jet and New.

New said something and took a step towards him. Jet scrambled back in fear. Well he would later tell Smellerbee and Longshot that he wasn't scared. But truth be told, he had just seen New beat the shit out of the Colonel – who was the worst and baddest man Jet knew. If New wanted, he would be able to break Jet in half.

New then knelt down in front of Jet and took off his helmet. He was youngish for a firemonster. Jet had never seen a firemonster this young. He had a strong jawline and big sad eyes. If he wasn't a firemonster, it would be a nice face. A kind face. But because he was a firemonster – he couldn't possibly be kind. He said something else, but Jet didn't understand it.

Jet felt like he was swimming deep underwater. All the sounds, everything New said had to get through fathoms before Jet heard it. Everything was swaying. Then New said something else and reached towards Jet. Jet tried to lurch back away from him, but then the whole world lurched and everything went black.

-0-0-0-

Lovely wonderful readers, this is a little ficlet that is too long for a drabble. It's about an encounter between Jet and Lu Ten. It will fit with the stalking universe. It's not as light hearted as some of my other works. I'm trying for a serious tone here, so this fic is somewhat of an experiement. However this idea crawled into my brain and would not go away.

Anyway in Jet's troubling obsession, I mentioned that Jet had a bad experience in jail. This is the experience he's referring to in that chapter.

Also I just wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone for being patient with me on the NSFZ updates front. Chap 13 is half written. I've been working on it a bit each day - But I'm just a bit time poor. I know that I haven't updated in foreeeeeever. I'm so sorry guys. Teaching has just been really hectic and tiring (I'm loving it though). My writing time has been cut back a little. However, I'll be finishing prac at the end of next week, and then I will have much more time to write.

Til then...


	2. who are you really

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Who are you?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The kid fainted and Lu Ten stood about gobsmacked for a second or two. He wasn't quite sure what to do in this situation, but he was pretty sure he should be_ doing something. _Any minute now, he would_ do something. _He tried to revive the kid, but no dice. He thought about fetching the medic. But it was new years eve and the guy was drunketty drunk drunk when Lu Ten left earlier today, so Agni knows what kind of state he'd be in by now.

Lu Ten stood indecisively for a second and then did what seemed like the best thing to do. He scooped up the kid as gently as he could and took him to his tent. The boy was all skinny, gangly limbs and he was so painfully thin. It was probably a combination of exhaustion, shock and fright that caused the kid to faint. Lu Ten wasn't a trained medic, but he knew enough. He knew that this boy was burned, starving, exhausted and freezing. He knew how to help with all four of those things.

As part of royal privilege, Lu Ten had his own tent. This was good, because he wouldn't trust anyone else in this camp with the kid. He did all the practical things first. He rubbed burn salve almost immediately on the kids forearms. And then bandaged them up. The kid was lucky. These would heal without scarring. The kid was still ridiculously cold, so Lu Ten tucked the kid into some blankets. The kid's feet brushed up against his arm and Lu Ten nearly yelped in surprise.

They were iciest thing Lu Ten had ever had the misfortune of brushing up against!

Lu Ten grabbed a pair of his thickest woollen socks and put them on the kid's feet. They were comically too large for him, but they would serve. Lu Ten knew that when an appendage got **that cold **he couldn't just use firebending to warm it up. The sudden temperature change did bad things to the blood. The kid would have to use his own bodyheat, but Lu Ten helped that along and wrapped him up even tighter in the blankets. The kid looked like some sort of ridiculous spring roll, all swaddled up in blankets, with just his little head poking out.

The kid needed feeding when he woke. Lu Ten reckoned he must have been starving. Lu Ten went to the mess hall and got some rice. He knew that earth kingdom people liked bland food. Everything he'd eaten here since leaving home had tasted bland. Plain rice was as bland as you could get. He had another thought and went to the supply tent, where all the spare bits of everything were kept. He found the good quality koalasheep wool undershirts and picked the three extra small ones he could find. They would be swimming on the kid, but they would keep him warmer than the thin summer shirt the kid was wearing now. He got some spare woollen socks too. The pants he couldn't do much about. They'd all be way too enormous for a skinny kid like that. But the shirts would help. He went back to his tent.

The kid roused soon after. At first he looked around in comical confusion. He glanced up and saw Lu Ten and his eyes widened in fear. He tried to shrug off the blankets and make a run for it but ended up tripping over the socks and landing in a big awkward heap. Lu Ten got up to help the kid, but the kid shouted "Don't you touch me!" at him, with real anger.

Lu Ten sat back a few paces from the Kid as he struggled to disentangle himself from the blankets. "Look kid, I'm really not going to hurt you." Lu Ten said in his most reassuring tone. The kid looked up with a confused gaze. Then it abruptly changed into a sceptical sneer and the kid muttered 'yeah right' under his breath.

Lu Ten tried a different tactic. Food bribery. This worked a treat with Zuko. The things that kid would do for fireflakes.

Lu Ten reached behind himself and scooped some hot rice into a bowl and held it out to the kid. "You must be hungry" he said as he laid it in front of the kid. The kid eyed the rice mistrustfully but hungrily. But he didn't reach for it.

"It's not poison, I promise you" Lu Ten said and served a small bowl for himself. He ate a mouthful of rice in front of the kid to prove that it was safe for consumption. The Kid's hunger won out after that and he reached for the bowl. He abandoned the chopsticks and ate with his fingers, shovelling huge clumps of rice into his mouth at a very rapid speed. Oh, the Kid was going to give himself indigestion at this rate.

When the Kid had finished, there was a slightly awkward silence. The kid still eyed him with a great deal of suspicion. Lu Ten asked if the kid was still hungry, mostly just for something to say. The kid was. Lu Ten gave him another bowlful, with the slight admonishment that the kid should try and eat it slowly. The kid took no notice of this and began shovelling the rice again.

Lu Ten tried to make conversation. He tried to put the Kid at ease by introducing himself. "My name is Lu Ten. What's yours?" the kid looked up and raised an eyebrow sceptically but did not reply. "If you don't tell me your name, I'll just have to call you kid." Lu Ten said. The kid shrugged to indicate that he didn't care at all what Lu Ten called him, and perhaps this was a realistic position to take. The men from earlier had called the Kid far worse after all.

"Okay... Well listen Kid. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. How did you even come to be here? Did the rough rhinos arrest you? Where are you from anyway?" If Lu Ten could find out where they had scooped this particular kid from, he could escort him safely back there. The kid shrugged again, and continued eating intently.

Lu Ten is starting to feel a bit frustrated by the sullen silence from the Kid, but he remains reasonable. "Look, I really just want to take you out of this camp and back to where you came from. Wouldn't you like to be back with your family?" The Kid inhales sharply and looks at Lu Ten with pure hatred. The rice clatters to the floor.

Lu ten had miscalculated. He was completely earnest in his desire to see the kid away from this camp full of terrible men who did terrible things. He would love to see the kid somewhere safe and warm. Safe and warm and with a nice family. In his eagerness to make this image in his head a reality, he had forgotten that the kid was most likely an orphan. No family. Not anymore.

The Kid glowered at him, but seemed to weigh up his options. He decided to attack and with and incomprehensible yell of rage, he tackled Lu Ten around the middle. He had surprising strength for one so small, but Lu Ten easily overpowered him. They clattered against the weapons chest and knocked the hook swords off. They clattered to the ground noisily and this distracted the kid. Lu Ten easily caught the kid in a headlock then. The kid kicked and screamed and struggled and called Lu Ten all sorts of names, he really did have a filthy mouth, this orphan kid.

The kid had tried to attack him, head on, and over power him with force – despite the complete futility of such an action. Had no one ever taught the kid strategy? How to wait for an opportunity? How to use an enemy's strength against them? No wonder the Rough Rhinos had picked him off easy. The kid had obviously been living rough, _someone _should tell him the basics. It was at that moment that Lu Ten realised that he _was someone. _

It wasn't treasonous in Lu Ten's mind. It was helping a poor, starving kid be a little less helpless. It would give him a chance, at least, of not been picked off by men like the rough rhinos, for drunken entertainment.

"Kid, you'll never win any fights if you go about tackling an opponent head on like that. Especially a bigger, stronger opponent... You need to learn how to turn an opponent's strength against him." Lu Ten began. The squirming boy under his arm stilled in surprise at his words and his tone.

Lu Ten released him. Gave him some advice on his stance, and passed on some of the techniques his father had taught him. The ones he had learned from the waterbenders. Those sort of tactics would be useful to a kid of this size. The kid listened, copied and looked mystified through out Lu Ten's instructions. His expression became ever so slightly less hostile.

His tone did not. After Lu Ten had corrected his stance, the kid blurted out "why are you telling me this? Teaching me to fight?" Lu ten tried to say that he wasn't teaching the kid how to fight, he was showing him the absolute basics in how to defend himself and there was a difference. There was. The difference was lost on the kid. He looked at Lu Ten with deep mistrust, but a flicker of something else. "But we're enemies!" the kid said bluntly in response.

"I'm not your enemy" Lu Ten said as gently and sincerely as he could. He held his hands out to the kid, palms out and open, as if he could prove by this gesture that he meant the kid no harm. Lu Ten was a good, and honourable person. He was not the enemy of small, starving, orphan boys.

The kid tilted his head and then asked, with the simple directness of male youth, "Well, if you're not the enemy...then who are you?"

For some reason, this made Lu Ten think of his beloved father, the last time they had spoken, before Lu Ten had set off on this accursed mission._ On this trip, you will need to start asking yourself the big questions; who are you and what do you want. _Lu Ten looked away, uncertain for a moment. Who was he really? Firenation captain, special ops, son of Iroh, cousin to Zuko and Azula, the calm one in his family, the one you had to watch, the bringer of light, the discoverer of burnt out towns in the middle of nowhere, seeker of answers; which one of these identities was more important than the last? Could he be all these things at once?

Lu Ten knew one thing for sure, this trip was not turning out like he had thought. He had thought that everything would be simple and easy and he would find rightness and purpose in the war and in his duty. Instead, everyday he found something that made him sick to the stomach. The war sickened him and that was the honest truth. He had begun to feel, deep in his bones, that the firenation was wrong. But how could the firenation, the glorious homeland he had loved so dearly ever be wrong? And how could Lu Ten ever reconcile all the thoughts in his head. Why did everything melt together into such a complicated pattern?

Lu Ten realised he hadn't answered the Kid. He turned back to face him, but the Kid had vanished...with the hook swords.

Bollocks!


	3. Taking chances

-o-

The ground is icy and rock hard beneath Jet's feet. The cold is such a sudden shock after being so warm – but Jet doesn't care. He just wants to put as much distance as possible between himself and the firenation camp. The firebender who called himself Lu Ten has assured Jet he was safe. Did he think Jet was_ an idiot?_** Jet hadn't been born yesterday **– and anyone who had been born the day before yesterday or earlier **knew** that you were never safe around firebenders.

Lu Ten had been distracted and Jet had taken his chance... as well as the rest of the bag of rice and the hook swords. And he wasn't sorry. He wasn't. Those swords had caught his eyes right away. They were the most beautiful thing Jet had seen. With these swords, Jet could protect himself and Longshot and Smellerbee. They had just been lying there...looking unloved and so snatchable.

So what if he didn't know how to use them – it couldn't be that hard to figure out. Perhaps if he'd waited a little bit longer, Lu Ten would have taught him a few moves with them – like he'd taught him those stances, the twin rope grip and the lotus blocks.

Pfft, no – it was much better that he had escaped when he did.

Lu Ten was weird and probably insane – and it was better not to spend too much time around weird and mad people, in Jet's opinion. Lu Ten teaching him all about fighting had been **the weirdest thing ever. **

Well, no... Lu Ten putting socks on him was the weirdest thing ever.

What the actual fuck was with the socks?

Jet had taken them off – they were thick wool. Good quality. They were the finest thing Jet had ever worn. He didn't want to wreck them by running in them. No, he'd taken them off and stuck them in his pocket. But ooh Jet had plans for these socks – when he was back with Longshot and Smellerbee, he was going to put them on and they make his toes feel wonderfully warm again.

Socks aside - Lu Ten was definitely weird.

He'd said he wasn't Jet's enemy – and that was the maddest thing Jet had ever heard. All firenation people were Jet's enemy.

Yet Lu Ten had saved him from Colonel Mongke and helped him and fed him and warmed him and bandaged him and taught him how to twist someone's wrist if they tried to slap him.

An _enemy _enemy wouldn't do that.

Jet didn't know how to classify what Lu Ten was. He was firenation, so _obviously he was evil_. But he had saved Jet from Colonel Mongke (and Colonel Mongke _was_**evil**, in Jet's opinion.) He'd offered Jet all that hot rice with such a sad and confused expression on his face. Jet had never thought fire monsters got sad.

Lu Ten was definitely sad.

Maybe they only got sad when they were younger – before they grew into big firemonsters like Colonel Mongke. Make no mistake, Lu Ten was _young. _He was the youngest firemonster Jet had ever met. He wasn't wearing the armour in the tent, just plain black pants and a warm looking red jumper. He had seemed so unassuming. You wouldn't know that he was big enough and bad enough to throw someone like Colonel Mongke over his shoulder. Lu Ten almost looked just like a regular teenager.

Jet wondered how old Lu Ten was – and then felt silly. He should stop thinking about the firemonster and stop feeling that little prick of guilt over stealing the swords (which clattered reassuringly against his back.) The swords were his now. He could use them to rob people travelling through the forest... then he'd finally get some decent supplies and food. He'd be like Rei Hei, who stole from bad people to help good people...just like he'd stolen from Lu Ten.

Except Lu Ten hadn't been bad to him at all.

Lu Ten had said he wasn't Jet's enemy – but if he wasn't Jet's enemy, who was he? Jet had asked that point blank. Lu Ten didn't seem to know the answer either. He'd look out the door of the tent, as if he thought something real interesting would happen out there, but he hadn't answered. He'd seemed so lost in thought – and Jet had taken the opportunity to flee. Whatever the answer was – it wasn't worth waiting around in a camp full of firenation soliders.

It was when he got further into the forest that Jet realised he was being followed. A slight snapping of twigs, then nothing. But that was enough. Jet knew the forest well and he knew what sounds were made by forest animals and the trees creaking and what sounds were made by evil firemonsters. Jet ran on, as fast as his feet would take him...but oh he was so sore and tired.

In the clearing, he hazarded a glancebehind him. He caught a glimpse of Lu Ten's face in the moonlight. Fuck! Maybe he shouldn't have taken the swords – they looked expensive. Obviously the Firemonster would chase him for them.

Jet was exhausted – but Lu Ten didn't seem to be at all tiring. Jet realised with dread, that he wasn't going to be able to out run Lu Ten. The next best option was finding a good hiding place and hoping that Lu Ten couldn't track. Jet was so close to the hideout – he didn't want to lure and enemy right to where Smellerbee and Longshot were.

Jet dived in the bushes and then crawled the long way round to a hollowed out tree stump. He crouched down, heart hammering in his chest, and hid and waited. Lu Ten came through the bushes a moment later. There was a slight pause. Jet held his breath. Footsteps walked off in the opposite direction, and Jet could hear the rustling of bushes on the other side of the clearing. Jet waited a minute and then let out a sigh of relief and stood up.

Only to come face to face with Lu Ten – who was sitting on a tree stump a little further off.

"You know Kid– next time you are hiding from someone, you'd be much better off climbing a tree. People very rarely look far above them. It's safer to climb above their eyeline and hide in the foliage. You also get a better vantage point from higher up as well." Lu Ten said conversationally.

What the actual fuck?

Why did this firebender keep giving him friendly advice? It was **fucking weird.** Mind you, the thing about hiding in trees did make a lot of sense, now that Jet thought about it. But Jet didn't have time to talk about good hiding places. Jet struggled from something to say back and drew a blank. Lu Ten was most likely here for the swords, but Jet didn't want to give them up. Sometimes the best defence is a good offence.

He instantly went on the offensive and asked "Why are you fucking following me?" angrily.

Lu Ten didn't look a touch bothered by Jet's rudeness. Instead he just said in that same conversational tone " I believe you have something of mine."

"No, I don't" Jet said, the denial springing to his lips instantaneously. He tries to make an innocent face. This seems to amuse Lu Ten somewhat.

"Don't bother with the innocent face. I have a cousin your age who pulls that all the time. You make _that face _at me and I take you swimming and ask you about what's bothering you."

Jet abandoned the innocent face and scowls. He is feeling petulant. He _needs_ these swords. He and Longshot and Smellerbee don't have a single weapon between them – that thought makes him feel vulnerable. Jet hates feeling vulnerable. This Lu Ten had scores of weapons. Surely he wouldn't miss the hook swords – and it would be so easy for him to get another set. But Jet has nothing.

Lu Ten notices the way he is scowling and the worried expression on his face. Lu Ten still doesn't seem angry. He even tries to console Jet, even though he knows Jet is thief. This night and this firebender just keeps getting weirder and weirder.

"Relax, you're not in trouble. I'm not going to harm you or even take this any further if you give the swords back now."

Jet looks away sullenly.

"They're a present for my cousin. He needs them." Lu Ten continues, in such an even reasonable tone that Jet feels like he is going crazy. Lu Ten's even temper is driving him bonkers.

"I need them more!" Jet snaps with a great deal of pent up emotion. Anger, frustration, sadness, grief – it's all jumbled up together. The ferocity of the way Jet shouts this seems to startle Lu Ten.

It is true. Jet needs the swords. He needs them to defend Longshot and Smellerbee. He needs them because he has nothing else. He needs them because their situation is hopeless now. If he has some sort of weaponry, he could try and rob people more easily and Longshot and Smellerbee could eat a decent meal for once. But Jet has too much pride to explain all this to Lu Ten.

Lu Ten looks curiously at Jet. It looks like he is weighing up his options. He looks at the sky for a moment and then looks back down a Jet and asks simply "tell me why you need them?"

Jet was about to answer, but at that moment – the two biggest reasons that he needs them for.. well they come crashing through the bushes and tackle Lu Ten off the tree stump in a dramatic fashion.


	4. Where the wild things are

-o-

Where the wild things are.

-o-

The Kid had taken the swords and some rice and pelted off into the night like the hounds of hell were after him. Lu Ten saw him across the field, near the edge of the forest. The kid wasn't even trying to run low to the ground now that the forest was in sight.

Idiot.

Anyone could've glanced up from their tankard and seen him. The Kid was lucky it was new years eve and everyone in this camp was too trollied to do anything. How did the Kid _not know_ these things? What did they teach them in earth kingdom schools? Honestly, it was a wonder the Kid had survived this long.

Lu Ten felt the strong urge to follow the kid – just to make sure he was alright and made it back some place safe. Skinny, starving, no winter coat or shoes and he clearly hadn't eaten properly in weeks.

Lu Ten should _do something. _No, that was ridiculous. He had no responsibility towards this kid. Idiot Kid's lack of survival skills was not Lu Ten's problem.

It wasn't.

Really.

Besides, he had done all he could for the kid and the kid had nicked off with the hook swords.

Little bastard.

Lu Ten told himself that the swords was the main reason he took after the kid. They were a present for Zuko. His birthday was coming up and Lu Ten knew he'd love these. Lu Ten had been teaching Zuko the daos, but Lu Ten's swords, huge behemoths of folded steel, were too heavy and cumbersome for a ten-year-old.

Hook swords were common in the Earth Kingdom. They were lighter, good quality and elegant. Zuko could practice everything that Lu Ten had taught him about dual wielding with these swords, until he was big enough to have daos of his own. Lu Ten had picked them up in flint and steel colony. He was going to send them back at the next post.

So Lu Ten told himself that he was going after the Kid just for the swords. If, after he had reclaimed them, he told the Kid a few tips about how to just_ plain old survive, _then that would be a fair trade. Lu Ten got his daos, his backpack full of everything he could possibly need (_just in case_) and set off after the kid. Just at the door he paused, and remembered the way the kid had ravenously eaten all the rice, the way he'd snuggled into the blankets for a quick moment.

Lu Ten didn't think he'd ever been as tired, cold and hungry as this kid seemed. This kid would need a lot more than survival tips if he was going to make it. Lu Ten felt like this moment, his next decision, would really say something about who he really was as a person.

He was oddly reminded of Zuko, finding this injured Tigerdillo cub on ember island last year. Lu Ten was in charge for the day and hadn't known what the fuck to do when his then 9-year-old cousin brought him **the mangy looking animal** and asked him to _fix it. _

Lu Ten was a sword guy. Not a _vet guy. _Injured cubs was _so not his area. _

They went back to where Zuko'd found it. Zuko was carrying the tigerdillo cub, and Lu Ten was carrying Azula (who was in one of her odd, subdued moods.) Lu Ten had been hoping that they would find the mother's tracks. Then he'd talk Zuko into letting the mangy thing go (so far he had resisted all other temptations and requests to put the mangy, disease ridden thing down). But if Lu Ten could find the mother's tracks, he could say the cub would follow the mother and it belonged with its mother.

Instead, a little investigation revealed the body of the mother Tigerdillo. The cub mewled in distress. Zuko cuddled it tighter and tried to comfort it. Lu Ten walked around to get a closer look at the mother. It looked like she was just sleeping, but Lu Ten knew, somewhere deep down, that she wasn't. He found a small burn mark on her neck. A few days old. It would have had to be made with a small, precise, deadly blast.

Blue fire.

Lu Ten had looked in shock at Azula and put her down so he could see her face better. Things like this had happened before – but he'd never wanted to believe her capable of it. Guilt and shame passed over her face. She'd shrank from his gaze and seemed fascinated with the ground. She looked sad, which was a rare emotion for Azula. Zuko had scooted next to her and held the cub up for her inspection, in an effort at cheering her up. He said that at least they could save the cub.

Oh boy – this conversation was going to be even worse than the one Lu Ten would have to have with Azula.

"We can't save the cub Snugs." Lu Ten had said, trying to sound very much the adult. Lu Ten knew enough about Tigerdillos to know that this cub was done for. He tried to explain. Tigerdillo cubs stayed with their mothers a long time. Years. This cub was only a few months old. They could patch it up now – but for what point and purpose? They couldn't keep it. It would never be a pet. It couldn't survive on its own in the wild. Not without its mother. It couldn't hunt, or fight, it would be vulnerable to attack. It would starve.

His father had drummed into him about respect for the cycle of life, the balance of nature and the will of the spirits. The spirits hadn't willed this poor animal to have a long life. But Lu Ten could ease the poor wee thing's passing.

Zuko wasn't having a bar of it.

There had been a stubborn, angry tirade**.**

Zuko didn't care what the spirits willed - because if they willed poor, cute Squashy (cripes, he'd already named it) to die a horrible death – then they were wrong and smelly and Zuko wasn't going to do anything they wanted ever again. Just because Squashy didn't have a mother, didn't mean they shouldn't at least try to help him. Zuko had shouted at Lu Ten (another rare event, he and Zuko never really argued) "You should always** at least try** to help if you can!"

Lu Ten found that he was unable to bear Zuko's disapproval. Also, if truth be told, Lu Ten wasn't sure if he had it in him to draw the knife across Squashy's neck. So he had acquiesced. They took Squashy back to the villa.

No one really knew what they were doing in the Squashy doctoring department. He had a few burn patches on him, was limping on one leg and was missing a bit of his ear and seemed hungry. Lu Ten and Zuko bandaged him up and the Zuko tried to feed him practically everything in the kitchen. Squashy got renamed Scratchy, due to his tendency to try and scratch Azula – (a tendency which Lu Ten thought Zuko was encouraging).

Lu Ten wrote to the Circus of the Sun. His girlfriend's older sister worked for them. They did acts with animals. Lu Ten knew they treated the animals well. Zara wrote back and said that they didn't really need a baby tigerdillo, but she would take it on, as a favour to Lu Ten and out of the goodness of her heart.

Lu Ten didn't know why he was thinking about that now. The Idiot Kid was very different from Squashy, the orphaned tigerdillo. Just because he was orphaned and stood little chance of survival on his own, unless some adult took him under their wing and taught him how to get food and protect himself – it didn't make it the same. Just because he seemed like a hungry wild thing that would eat everything in the kitchen if he was allow – it didn't make it the same thing. It wasn't the same thing at all. But still, Lu Ten heard Zuko saying _You can help. You should always at least try to help if you can!_

Fuck it.

Lu Ten went back into the mess hall and collected some more bags of rice, some more dried rations, a cooking pot and a good quality chopping knife (_just in case_), then he took some blankets and some more socks from the linen cupboard. All good quality wool. He got some wire, which would be useful for making snare traps. The kid obviously didn't know how to make them – otherwise he wouldn't be this hungry. This forest was teeming with squirrelcoons – if you knew how to make basic traps, you'd never go hungry.

Lu Ten set off after the kid, across the frozen land. The kid had a huge head start, but he was smaller and slower than Lu Ten. Lu Ten was a great tracker. The more he followed the kid, the more he felt sure that he was making the right decision. This boy wasn't an enemy. He was a starving kid- and if Lu Ten couldn't help him, couldn't have compassion for him – then what was the point of anything at all? He could bring hope and light to this kid. The firenation was meant to bring hope and light to the world. To help the world into the future. That was what this war was about .

This war was pointless and futile and so many people died to young. Children too. Lu Ten hated seeing children hurt most of all. Lu Ten could give the Kid a chance at least. Lu Ten could think of no better present than the chance of a future.

The Kid realised that Lu Ten was following him at some point. There'd been a quick over the shoulder glance. The Kid tried to speed up – but he was exhausted. Suddenly he darted to the left and Lu Ten had to turn sharply. The clearing was empty, but there was a slight rustling of bushes on the other side. Lu Ten went over to investigate. The kid must have jumped through here – but he hadn't continued. No he'd turned back through the undergrowth. Smart. Kid was obviously clever. Just not clever enough. If he'd had time to do that, they he would have had time to climb a tree, and that was a much better option. Everyone should know that.

Lu Ten was quiet for a second and listened hard. He could heard the kid breathing behind a tree stump. Lu Ten went over and sat near the Kid's tree stump. Close, but not too close. The kid stood up after a moment and nearly yelped in surprise when he saw Lu Ten sitting there waiting.

Lu Ten told him about the trees. The kid responded with his usual hostility. Lu Ten didn't hold the hostility against the Kid. It was like how Squashy kept trying to scratch Azula. He couldn't blame the kid for lashing out at an enemy. In many ways, dealing with the kid was like dealing with a wild animal. You had to appear neutral and non-threatening.

Lu Ten told him about the swords. He'd get those back first and then he'd teach the kid a few things. The Kid pleaded innocence, in a way that reminded Lu Ten so strongly of Azula and her _no-I never_ face. Lu Ten had seen through it every time. But with Azula, there was always more to the story. After Squashy, after Ursa had gotten back home, he'd taken her swimming, just the two of them, and asked her about it. Lu Ten felt a sudden wave of longing. He missed his cousins. He missed his dad. He missed Ursa. He missed the world making sense.

Instead of being home, he was in the woods, in the middle of the night, on new years eve, with this Idiot Kid who constantly reminded him of both his cousins, and injured tigerdillo cubs and war atrocities.

Kid was looking nervous and sullen and worried. He was probably fearing punishment. Lu Ten realised with horror, that the Rough Rhinos had told him about how they'd chopped the hands off an Earth Kingdom thief they had found – in front of his village. Pointless, senseless violence, just to terrify people. No wonder the kid was looking so worried. Lu Ten tried to reassure him that he wasn't in trouble.

Really, Lu Ten just wanted the swords. He wanted Zuko to have them. Zuko was good at swords and they gave him confidence. He needed them. If Lu Ten couldn't be there to look out for Zuko, then he could at least send him the swords so he could look out for himself. Lu Ten couldn't shake the feeling that, one of these days, Ozai was going to do something terrible to Zuko. It was a dread he'd kept to himself. He didn't want to frighten his cousin after all. The kid was only ten. How do you tell a ten-year-old that you know their father hates them?

The Kid shouted back that he _needed _the swords more. There was so much feeling in the way he shouted that. There were tears in his eyes and anger in his voice. His bare feet looked freezing against the cold hard ground. Lu Ten couldn't deny that the kid's need was great. He needed so much and had so little. Zuko needed confidence, this Kid needed everything. Lu Ten couldn't believe he was entertaining this thought, but he thought perhaps, maybe, if the Kid needed them for the right reasons, then maybe...

Lu Ten never got a chance to hear the kid's reasons though, because right at that point, there was a large crashing from the bushes and two small figures emerged. No finesse. No plan. No skill. Cripes, one of them even yelled _Hiiiiya! a_s they attacked. The lauched themselves at Lu Ten's waist and knocked him off the stump. He landed with a thud, with the two of them on top of him. They were obviously kids too. Lu Ten extracted his arms from the backpack and rolled out of it easily. His two assailants tried to knock him over again.

Lu Ten had spent many a day with Zuko and Azula. He was used to feeling out numbered when it came to kids. He'd had pretend fights with Azula and Zuko all the time and they all ended the same way. Lu Ten would hold both of them upside down by an ankle until they'd admit defeat. He also did this to separate them when they were fighting. One ankle in each hand, then they'd be off the ground and upside down. They'd normally still try to fight each other, despite the fact that Lu Ten would hold them as far apart from each other as humanly possible. Lu Ten would normally shout at one point that **everybody needed to calm the fuck down. **This usually worked with his cousins.

He tried that here. It was a very short little squabble – Lu Ten did his best not to hurt the kids, he just wanted to contain them. When he had one in each hand, he shouted about the necessity of calming the fuck down. But these wild kids didn't calm the fuck down. No, Idiot Kid chose to tackle him around the middle at this moment and everyone feel on the ground in a big heap again.

Lu Ten Pushed the Idiot Kid off him, and Idiot Kid went sprawling. Lu Ten felt a prick of guilt, but he used the moment to get up again and firebend. He had just wanted to get a better look at the new kids. He hadn't meant to frighten them like he did. He lit a small fireblast – bright white, just to get a glimpse of the new faces. There were two of them. A boy with a long face and a small girl with smudges all over her cheeks. The girl yelped in fright at the firebending and hid behind the boy. Then suddenly the Idiot Kid came back into the fray. He jumped in front of the other two and shouted "Don't hurt them!" with real alarm.

Lu Ten **hated** how terrified the kids were of him. Didn't they know he'd never hurt kids? That he had come here to try and help?

Lu Ten tried to explain that he really just wanted to help, that he wasn't here to hurt them. Lu Ten expressed a desire for a truce. The kids were most sceptical...understandably so. But after a short and very frustrating conversation, they agreed to a temporay cessation of hostilities. It was frustrating because Idiot Kid had the worse qualities of both his cousins. Azula's slyness and Zuko's stubborness combined into the one Idiot Kid.

Lu Ten greatly wished to put him on the naughty step.

Lu Ten wondered briefly why he was even bothering trying to help these brats. That wonder went away when the girl's eyes lit up like fireworks when she felt the blankets. She pressed her face against them and seemed to feel such joy at the prospect of being warm again. Seeing her face, snuggled happily against the blankets...well that was _why_ enough for Lu Ten.

Lu Ten had claimed that he had brought them supplies in the backpack – the girl had been the one who volunteered to go and inspect it. The two boys stood across from him, in fighting stances. Like they thought they could take him. In one of life's weird ironies, the Idiot Kid corrected the other kid's stance – using the exact same advice Lu Ten had told him, mere hours ago. Knees slightly bent, weight evenly distributed etc. Well, at least Lu Ten could take comfort in the fact that the Idiot Kid had been listening to him.

The Girl had shrieked in delight when she first came across the blanket. She had now developed what could be an unhealthy fondness for it. She had draped it around herself like it was a fantastic cloak. In the most unusual moment of the evening, she wrapped it around herself like a dress and asked all gathered "Don't I look pretty in my new blanket?" in such a hopeful, girly voice. The The other boy simply nodded at her. Idiot Kid gaped at her like she had taken leave of her senses.

She went back to unloading the backpack, a little abashed. Wire for snares, rope, cooking pots, more blankets, the tent, and socks got taken out and arranged in line. The other two boys slowly dropped their fighting stances and became more and more interested in the contents of the backpack. The girl shrieked in delight again when she came upon the rations.

Free Food seemed to be the way to the girl's heart. She was beside herself with the prospect of a good meal. Lu Ten offered to cook it for her, so it would be a good hot meal. She smiled up at him for a moment. A heartbreakingly hesitant and hopeful smile. Who knows how long it had been since she'd had a hot meal. The Idiot Kid cleared his throat loudly and deliberately. There was a pause and the three kids looked at each other uncertainly.

Cooking would mean firebending and firebending seemed to terrify them. The Idiot Kid was obviously in charge, because it was him who finally decided. He looked at his small friends. They were just as hungry as he had been a few hours ago. They also had bare feet and that half starved, half wild air about them. Everyone, even Idiot Kids knew that nothing warmed the body and the soul like a good hot meal. Idiot Kid said "fine, cook it – but don't do any stupid."

This was quite rich, coming from Idiot Kid.


	5. something good

-o-o-o-o-

This was the fucking weirdest night of Jet's whole life.

Jet was really confused by Lu Ten. He kept waiting for Lu Ten to do something** evil **– Lu Ten was a firebender after all. They were meant to do evil shit like it was their job.

When Lu Ten put his scarf around Smellerbee – Jet fingered the hook swords in case he tried to strangle her with it...but he never. Instead he wrapped it around her snugly and apologised that he didn't have much winter gear for her. He'd only brought a few things for Jet – which had now been distributed between Jet and Longshot. He'd brought warm woollen shirts that felt soft as a kitten's fur and thick socks. Smellerbee was using a pair of socks as gloves at the moment.

Smellerbee was definitely the most trusting of their little group.

Lu Ten had won her over at 'I'll cook you a hot dinner'.

Hot food, especially hot, free food was the easiest way to her heart. She'd love anyone who fed her - and this worries Jet. He worries that this hunger has become their baseline. Longshot and Smellerbee practically inhaled the rice, and even though Jet had already eaten, he'd been so hungry for so long that he found room for a bit more. It made him feel a bit sick because he hadn't had this much to eat in the longest time. No one said anything, but Lu Ten had cooked what was their first hot meal together since their village had been destroyed.

They didn't even have a set of spark rocks between them.

No one had wanted to start a fire after that day.

Jet thought that he would always hate fire after that.

He would always be wary of its raw capacity for destruction and the way it hurt and seared.

But he'd forgotten how fire could also be warm and comforting.

Lu Ten had made them a big fire and instructed them all to warm themselves up. He said it in a that bossy, no-nonsense tone that Jet's dad had sometimes used. The sort of voice that was used to telling kids what to do and dealing with cheeky responses. The three of them had inched closer slowly at the start. Then Smellerbee had just started..._luxuriating_ in the warmth. It was almost shameful how much she enjoyed being warm and how expressive she was about this. _oh that's so nice, oh that's so warm, oh I can feel my toes!_

They had sat for a while, basking in the warmth while Lu Ten fussed with dinner and the supplies.

The weirdest thing about the whole night was the supplies. Lu Ten definitely had to be mad, Jet reckoned – to be bringing them all this stuff. And he just gave it to them...like it was nothing. But this sort of stuff could really help them and some of it was really good quality. Jet wondered if Lu Ten even knew how much some of this stuff was worth. Or maybe he was just touched in the head after all.

He'd brought good wire for snares for a start – what the actual fuck was up with that. Not only did Lu Ten bring the wire, but he showed them how to make a whole bunch of basic traps. It felt almost like school. But Lu Ten was the weirdest teacher he had ever encountered.

Lu Ten showed them how to set the traps and then made them do it over and over again – until he could be sure that they would remember it. Jet kind of resented his bossiness. However Lu Ten did have a point – trap setting would be an invaluable skill in the forest. They wouldn't go hungry if they could set good traps.

They then set the traps up around the camp in a big wide circle. While they were waiting for the traps to snap, Lu Ten set up a tent for them – because the hideout wasn't insulated enough in his oh-so-expert opinion. The Tent was big enough for one large firenation man – but it would suffice for three kids in the time being until a more permanent shelter could be made.

Lu Ten had advice about that too. Use the tent until spring. Winter snow made everything too damp and unworkable so it was a bit too late to build a more permanent structure now. Lu Ten thought they'd be better off in the trees. The forest was full of all kinds of predators in the warmer months (bears and firebenders for one). They roamed the forest floor looking for prey. An elevated position would grant them safety and privacy.

The benefits of the trees were many – according to Lu Ten. But the biggest problem would be finding a way of staying in the tree tops. It would be hard to build a sturdy structure that would be big enough -especially because none of them had any building experience.

Smellerbee had offered that Longshot's dad is...was a carpenter, and Longshot was pretty good as well. Lu Ten and longshot had a conversation...well it would be a conversation if Longshot actually spoke (Longshot hadn't spoken since it happened). As it was Lu Ten had talked a great deal at Longshot and Longshot had nodded a lot at Lu Ten.

The rest of the items in the bag were demonstrated and then stashed in the tent. Lu Ten then started giving them other lessons. Survival lessons. Lessons about being downwind and upwind, and how to find your way by the stars if you got lost.

Lu Ten was just explaining the best ways to collect water when one of the traps went off. Lu Ten had taken Jet aside and shown him the best way to kill it and skin it and gut it. Lu Ten thought that might be a bit too gross for Smellerbee and Longshot. Because Jet was the oldest – he got shown.

They hung the squirrelcoon up to drain – it would be a good lunch tomorrow. And went back to the others. Smellerbee had stuffed the tent full of blankets to make it 'cosy' and Longsot was playing with more of the wire for traps. They were like kids at christmas. Lu Ten explained to them that they could sell the squirrelcoon pelts in the town for money. If they learned to live modestly and use the resources around them...he was sure they'd be _okay._

"but until you gets the hang of catching things – you'll need a little bit more to get by." Lu Ten said and then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag – which he handed to Longshot. Lu Ten seemed to believe that Longshot was the most responsible – possibly because his constant silence prevented him from saying stupid things. but Jet said enough stupid things to compensate.

Lu Ten wanted them to spend the money wisely – on things the forest couldn't provide. They'd need to by a set of spark rocks. They'd also need shoes each because cold feet lead to illness and _catching your death_ and Lu Ten didn't want that for them. He also wanted them to try and make the money stretch to building supplies in the spring.

Lu Ten ran them through a rough breakdown on what everything should cost, gave them some tips on haggling, banked the fire, checked the tent was secure, filled the waterskins for them and checked the traps. There were two more squirrelcoons, which Lu Ten killed as quickly and painlessly as possible and then made Jet practice skinning them. The first one he mangled terribly – but he did a bit better at the second one.

After that, it didn't seem like Lu Ten had anything left to give them or show them.

Earlier this evening, he had come bursting into a hideout – a big, bad firemonster with everything. Now he just looked like a regular teenager, sitting by the fire with them in just a woollen jumper, black pants and the scabbard with his big broadswords in it. He looked a bit smaller and less threatening out of his armour. He'd even given his big winter coat to Longshot, which made him look smaller still. he looked like a regular man and not a big bad monster.

Jet glanced briefly at Lu Ten and wondered if he was feeling cold at all. And then dismissed the thought. Firebenders never got cold – did they.

Jet thought that he hated all firebenders with a blind passion. He thought they all deserved to die terrible, horrible deaths. But looking at Lu Ten over the fire was making him feel funny inside. It was making him reconsider some things. Maybe he wouldn't hate all firebenders. He couldn't really hate Lu Ten anyway. Not after he given them a home, food, money and the means for survival. Lu Ten had given them hope.

They'd be able to survive now – Jet was sure of it. Him and Smellerbee and Longshot could get by like this.

You couldn't really hate someone who was so generous that they gave Longshot the winter coat of their back – when Longshot's teeth started chattering like mad, even despite the fire.

You couldn't hate a person who patiently showed you how to set a trap so you wouldn't starve and could be self -sufficient. (Lu Ten had been very fond of the word self-sufficient and he'd very much wanted the three of them to be self-sufficient).

You couldn't hate a person who saved you from certain death at the hands of Colonel Mongke (the worst monster in the world).

Could you?

Lu Ten got up then and told them that the sun would be up soon – and they'd do well to get some sleep. Tomorrow was the first day of the new year after all. He looked around at the three of them, and there was a delicate sort of pause.

Something passes between them. Between Lu Ten and the kids. Jet can't describe or define it at all. But it is something warm and good. It's definitely good. Before Lu Ten arrived – their situation was hopeless and now it's not. Everyone around the fire knows this one simple truth. That means something – it does.

It's there for just a second, that feeling. It is like the light sparkling on the creek in summer. A quick bright flash – then it is gone.

Lu Ten wishes them all the best of luck in a nice voice. It's deep and vaguely raspy and Jet likes it. After wishing them luck – there didn't seem to be anything more to say. Lu Ten started walking away on those big long firebender legs of his.

Smellerbee called out "thank you for everything" at his retreating form. He stopped right at the tree line, turned and waved at her. The last thing he said was "you're welcome. Take care of each other now." Smellerbee said she would and waved back like an idiot. Then Lu Ten smiled, turned and started walking through the trees and right back out of their lives again.

He'd left everything with them. Even the bag he'd run into the forest with. Even the hook swords. Which he'd said was a very important present for his cousin. Which he'd wanted back so badly at the start of the night. Which Jet stole. Jet felt a little wiggly worm of guilt in his stomach. He glanced between the tent, which Smellerbee and Longshot had already clambered into, and the gap in the trees which Lu Ten had disappeared through.

So Jet decided that maybe just this once, he would make an exception.

Maybe not all firebenders were evil.

Maybe Lu Ten was okay in his book.

Maybe Jet should give him back the swords.

He stood up and followed Lu Ten through the trees.

-o-

Jet didn't know it at the time, but he was right about to learn the most important lesson of the night; how to use the hook swords.

He was right about to be told the most important prediction of the year; the war will be over by the start of summer.

He was right about to hear the most important promise of his life; I promise you, I'll do my best to get justice for you.

Jet gives a promise of his own; I'll never use these swords to attack – I will only use them for defense.

-o-

Everyday Jet practices the moves he's been taught with his hook swords and he gains skill and competency and confidence. He begins to experiment – but tries to maintain good technique. He remembers Lu Ten's words. The swords are an extension of himself and they are two parts of the same whole.

Squirrelcoons are caught and skinned. Pelts are sold. Shoes and supplies are bought. Wood and nails and rope are stockpiled. In early spring Longshot draws up a plan and together the three of them build the first platform of what will later be an enormous and expansive treehouse. Lu Ten is right. It's safer in the trees.

The kids grow less scared of fire. They eat a hot meal every night – even if they are tired of the taste of squirrelcoon and rice – at least they are no longer hungry.

For four months after this night – the world is a better, warmer, less hungry place for Jet.

But this story lasts for six.


End file.
